Untitled 2
by storyduststories
Summary: Human AU. Pearl gets stood up and Rose comes to the rescue.


Pearl watched the last sliver of ice slide down as she finished her second glass of water. She wiped at the condensation with her fingertips and dragged droplets of water across the shoddy tabletop. It wasn't until she heard the rush of ice and water hitting glass that she looked up to see a waiter with a metal jug refilling her cup for her. Pearl could only imagine what the waiter—Steven, his name tag said—saw in her eyes because a moment after they made eye contact he gave her a smile that had pity written all over it.

"Do you want to order anything now?" he asked, setting the jug down. Pearl glanced at the glossy, untouched menu resting in front of her and the exact copy of it facing the other, empty side of the table.

"No… no, I'm not ready yet," she said. Steven nodded and left Pearl to her embarrassment.

She was too mortified to be angry, frustrated with herself for allowing this to happen. It wasn't the classiest place and that should've been her first warning. She let herself be a hopeful fool and agreed to the first suggestion. In retrospect, it must have been chosen for this exact reason—for this exact thing to happen.

Pearl pressed the heels of her hands against her forehead and willed tears away for the umpteenth time.

Her first mistake had been entertaining a conversation with Jasper. Gorgeous, charismatic, but most importantly, infamous Jasper. Pearl was perhaps cocky in fancying herself an exception. Initially, she resisted Jasper's charm, which had a reputation for being incredibly effective on all types of people. There was no way someone like her could be wooed by someone like Jasper. Pearl was either above or below that. One way or another, she was ineligible.

But then, when Jasper set their sights on Pearl, everything changed. No longer was Pearl the exception because she was ineligible; instead, she was the exception because she was the only one qualified. Jasper made her feel as though she were truly special, especially since she wasn't their normal "type," which Jasper made a point of emphasizing. The way Jasper spoke with their silver tongue and put their hands on Pearl's shoulders, it hadn't been difficult to convince Pearl to go out with them.

Pearl accepted the invitation without pausing to doubt it. The whole process of being courted had happened in such a whirlwind that Pearl hadn't had a moment to herself to be skeptical.

Until now, that is. Now, alone in some crowded, seedy bar a decent bus ride from campus, Pearl had a chance to reflect. She was reminded of why she engaged with others so infrequently, why she preferred to hole up in her dorm and study instead of mingle.

She really was nothing. And she'd been nothing before this night. She'd been nothing when Jasper first said hello. It was just a matter of accepting and adapting to how truly worthless she was. She too readily accepted someone's advances, not because Jasper was attractive (although they were), but because she craved validation, someone to show her that she wasn't as undesirable as she felt.

Jasper hadn't given Pearl's insecurities a lick of thought, though. To Jasper, it was all fun and games. In fact, Pearl was such an easy target, she was surprised Jasper hadn't approached her sooner.

With the cycle of mental self-deprecation well underway, Pearl found herself finishing her third glass of water. As she put it down, she picked up her phone, again for the umpteenth time. At first, she'd expected Jasper to text, call, or otherwise somehow contact her. By now, Pearl was just checking the time. She'd been there for forty minutes or so already. Resigned, she figured this spectacle had gone on long enough. Tears welled in her eyes. Time to go.

"Hey!"

Pearl startled as a girl appeared in the booth opposite her. The girl was a far cry from Jasper, with hair dyed bubblegum pink instead of Jasper's natural sandy brown, though she rivaled Jasper in size. This girl had bouncy ringlets and glittering, wide eyes where Jasper had a wild, shaggy mane and eyes that were narrow and sharp. Even their manners were, right from the start, different; this girl had a magnetic presence that pulled attention to her, causing her to glow. On the other hand, Jasper had to make themselves known and did so to the utmost degree. Where Jasper was forceful and abrasive, this girl had no need to be.

"I'm so sorry… Traffic was crazy… But I'm here now!" When Pearl didn't respond, the girl leaned forward and whispered, "My name is Rose. Just go along with it!"

Pearl shifted her gaze to two girls sitting at the bar who lacked subtlety in their glances. They must be friends of Rose's, Pearl supposed, and in doing so, put two and two together. If her humiliation hadn't been complete before, it was now. These three saw a girl who'd been stood up and decided to joke about it at her expense. They were making a mockery of her.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Pearl said, looking back at Rose, whose grin slipped a little.

"Because an extraordinary girl like you deserves better than whoever stood you up tonight," Rose said. Snapping back into character, she continued, "Anyway, I think I must have your number wrong in my phone, because none of my texts or calls went through." She retrieved her phone from her pocketbook and handed it to Pearl. "Can you go ahead and fix it for me, please?"

It was something in the way Rose smiled—genuine, excited, interested—that made Pearl look down at the phone in her hand. The wallpaper was a picture of her and the other two girls at the bar, all with their arms around each other's shoulders and waists, laughing at something beyond the camera. She'd been right in assuming that the three of them were friends, but Rose's demeanor told her that that was the only detail she had right. The intentions behind this impromptu date didn't seem malicious. Although, she'd been tricked once before, hadn't she?

Wary, Pearl looked up at Rose. She must've looked uncertain because Rose immediately perked up. "You must be wondering about my friends! I haven't introduced them to you yet. That's Garnet…" Rose pointed at the taller of the two in the picture, "and the other one is Amethyst. They're right over there, actually," she said, directing Pearl's attention back to the bar, where Garnet and Amethyst were now engrossed in a conversation and no longer interested in them. "They're my closest friends in the world. They mean everything to me." Her tone was warm, sincere. Rose didn't even have to say anything about them for her remarks to be complimentary; her voice alone conveyed enough fondness.

Pearl was already tapping away at the phone's keyboard when Rose looked back at her. Pleased, Rose took the phone back, noting the name of her new contact. Once she put her phone away, Rose propped her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her palms, gazing at Pearl as though she admired her and could admire her for days and days.

"Nice to meet you, Pearl."

"Nice to meet you too, Rose."

"Your date finally arrived!" Steven said, reappearing at Pearl's—their—table. Both Pearl and Rose had been so transfixed, they hadn't noticed him walking over. At their looks of surprise, Steven quickly added, "I mean, ah… are you ready to order?" He brandished his small notepad and pen.

Rose recovered first and answered for them. "Yes, I think we're ready to order." She winked at Pearl, who blushed and covered her face by pretending to scrutinize her menu. Rose's affectionate laughter made her smile for the first of what would be many times that night.

* * *

 **This is a reupload.** **Based on a tumblr prompt I can no longer find. Something along the lines of, "Person A gets stood up and Person B notices and pretends to be their date." If anyone knows what I'm talking about, let me know so I can give proper credit.**


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